New Never Alone Trailer Gives Fascinating Insight into Alaskan Culture

A newly released video for the upcoming title Never Aloneexplains the importance of transferring historic knowledge to a younger generation – the so called digital natives.

Iñupiat Elder – and cultural ambassador to the Never Alone project – Ron Brower, believes that digital games may be the way to bridge the gap between older generations and the “Xbox generation.” He points out that youth would be absorbing Inupiat stories and cultural values through a non-traditional digital based format, but absorbing them nonetheless. His hope is that Never Alone will provide an insight into the Inuit mindset, which vastly differs from the way society thinks today, not only due to the impacts of isolation, but also due to the importance of different beliefs, such as being self-sufficient, independent, and innovative:

“If it can do that, then it will have done its job as a video game”

The video itself gives us a few snapshots highlighting the development of Never Alone, from storyboarding, to translating those concepts onto the computer, and even game-testing segments. It also showcases a wonderful array of artwork inspired by the native people of Alaska, many of them monochrome, but no less intriguing than their colored counterparts.

A keen retrogamer who grew up playing classics like Prince of Persia, Aladdin, and Diddy Kong Racing, Katrina believes that digital games are not just fun, but a great way to learn. These days she enjoys studying Japanese language acquisition, and designing her own games.